AP IPSOS Study...

The Associated Press decided to conduct a swearing study to see how often people swear or hear swearing in public. Now THERE's a brilliant way to spend some money.
People swear. News flash from the AP.
Whatthefuckever.

Britney? I don't think so....

Even if this isn't supposed to be a sculpture of Britney Spears giving birth on a bear skin rug, the thing is downright disturbing. The artist, however, claims that it is the Pop Tart.
I says it is an "idolized" version (in other words, it looks nothing like her). If you read the whole article you see that he has done other works of shock art. What a tool. He did this horrendous thing and by putting her name to it has gotten attention for it.
It's clear he has never witnessed an actual birth (note the expression on her face). This looks more like a scene from a pregnant porno that it does someone giving birth.

Great Cop One-Liners...

Got these in an email today and absolutely love them...

The following 15 Police Comments were taken off of actual police car videos around the country.

#15 "Relax, the handcuffs are tight because they're new. They'll stretch out after you wear them awhile."

#14 "Take your hands off the car, and I'll make your birth certificate a worthless document."

#13 "If you run, you'll only go to jail tired."

#12 "Can you run faster than 1200 feet per second? In case you didn't know, that is the average speed of a 9mm bullet fired from my gun."

#11 "So you don't know how fast you were going. I guess that means I can write anything I want on the ticket, huh?"

#10 "Yes, Sir, you can talk to the shift supervisor, but I don't think it will help. Oh. Did I mention that I am the shift supervisor?"

# 9 "Warning! You want a warning? OK, I'm warning you not to do that again or I'll give you another ticket."

# 8 "The answer to this last question will determine whether you are drunk or not. Was Mickey Mouse a cat or a dog?"

# 7 "Fair? You want me to be fair? Listen, fair is a place where you go to ride on rides, eat cotton candy, and step in monkey DOO."

# 6 "Yeah, we have a quota. Two more tickets and my wife gets a toaster oven."

# 5 "In God we trust, all others we run through NCIC."

# 4 "Just how big were those two beers?"

# 3 "No, sir, we don't have quotas any more. We used to have quotas, but now we're allowed to write as many tickets as we want."

# 2 "I'm glad to hear the Chief of Police is a good personal friend of yours. At least you know someone who can post your bail."

And.... THE BEST ONE!!!

# 1 "You didn't think we give pretty women tickets?... You're right, we don't. ... Sign here.

Kevin goes home...

Finally a vote that makes sense. The bottom three really were the bottom three and lisping Kevin is going home. I like the kid - he has a great sense of humor. Poor thing can't carry a tune in a bucket.
Kevin was this year's choice at votefortheworst.com. This site apparently picks who they think is the worst and attempts to keep them in the competition for as long as possible. They backed John Stevens. It was working - right up until tonight.
I was fully prepared to hate Chris' reworking of I Walk the Line, but ended up really liking it. The one thing I didn't like was Simon's comment on how he likes it that Chris refuses to compromise on this style. In other words, he again "rocked" a song when he was supposed to sing in the genre of the week. The whole purpose of the genre weeks is to show versatility and let us hear the complete package. The judges are always asking for more variety, wanting the singers to go outside their comfort zone. It just irritated me that Simon is actually praising Chris when he criticizes others for playing it safe. All that said - I really did like this new version of the song.
Katharine is still shining and she looked gorgeous this week. What a hair day! Mandisa really nailed it too. Great week overall. A huge improvement over Stevie Wonder week.

Coffee...

McDonald's is entering the designer coffee business in an attempt to steal away customers from Starbucks and the like.
One of my son's works at a local McD's on weekends. At his location, the new "premium" coffee consists of a new Starbuck-esque cup and a slick advertising campaign. The contents of the cup is the same ole shite.
Ah...how about a refreshing cup of marketing?

My dog is home...

Chloe spent the night at the vet recuperating from her spay. She got her big girl shots and became a woman all in one visit and she was decidedly unhappy about it.

Even at the time I knew it was stupid, but I felt so guilty that she was spending the night there. She loves to be around people and the thought of her lying in a kennel, surrounded by strange dogs and cats, with no people there just broke my heart. Yes...I even wept a bit.

But now she's home, no worse for wear. The vet said to try to keep her calm and sedate. Yeah - whatever. She's tearing around here wrestling with the other dogs and jumping from couch to couch. I guess she's as glad to be home as I am glad to have her back.

What is America thinking??

Right off the bat I knew something was very very wrong. Ace in the bottom three and Kevin is safe. What the hell?? Then it further went astray when Kellie is safe and Lisa is pegged as the bottom three. At least the one voted off was deserving.

I just don't get the Kevin thing. He's a sweet kid. He has a great sense of humor and isn't afraid to use it. That said - the boy can't sing. He's this year's John Stevens. So many decent talents got voted off before John Stevens on Idol 3 that even he felt bad. You could see it in his face when they announced each week that he was staying. This year, Kevin is shaping up to be in the same boat.

Kellie is sweet and innocent and all that, but pulease. She wasn't good this week. She clearly deserved to be in the bottom three.

America's love affair with mediocrity has got to stop.

Big 10 championship...

HAWKEYES WIN! Iowa beat Ohio State yesterday to capture the Big 10 tournament championship and gain momentum going into the NCAA.
They always bring their defense, but their offense is either really on or really really off (Michigan State game on Saturday). Hopefully they will figure out a way to turn it on and leave it on.

Curiouser and curiouser...

The Dubai port deal is back in the news. The House panel, which is dominated by Republicans voted to block the deal. I'm not sure about the verbiage they choose to use here. Our Congress does not have the authority to block the sale of a British company to a Middle Eastern company, which seems to be implied a bit. They are voting whether to transfer our contract from P&O to Dubai.

Based on their quotes, I can't help but wonder if the Congressmen debating this really understand it or if they are playing up a falsehood for political gain. Quoted from MSNBC: "This is a national security issue." said Rep. Jerry Lewis, the chairman of the House panel, adding that the legislation would "keep America's ports in American hands." and "One of the most vulnerable situations facing America is our ports of entry," said Rep. Bill Young, R-Fla., chairman of the House defense appropriations subcommittee. "Whoever's responsible for those ports of entry should be American." Hello...the ports are being controlled by the Brits now, not us. True, they are our buds right now. I understand the distinction between a perceived friend and a perceived enemy, but still - get it right.

Oh, and have you heard about this? Bill Clinton's ties to Dubai and the fact that he has been counseling them in this port deal issue is being reported all over the Internet. Honestly I haven't seen the national news on TV in so long that I don't know if they have picked it up yet.

Although I don't agree with Bush on this one, he claims that Dubai is our friend and ally and that we should treat them as such. He is sticking by his conviction. Hillary, on the other hand, reported Bill's earnings from Dubai yet "claims" that she had no idea that he was currently counseling them on the best way to achieve this deal. She had no problem spending the 450K that they pocketed, yet because it's a chance to lead the charge and gain a few political points, she sells them out.

Bush and Clinton both are on Dubai's side here. Are we being reactionary? I don't know. I'm sure we aren't hearing everything so my opinion is as naive as everyone else's. I feel uncomfortable with the concept and right now I don't think there is anything wrong with erring on the side of national safety. I do have a problem with politicos that change their skins depending on the political storm that's brewing. I don't always agree with Bush, but I admire him as a leader because he doesn't waver on issues. Having the courage and conviction to take an unpopular stand is the mark of a true leader. Leading my popular opinion and being willing to sell out is the mark of a wannabe.

Random stuff...

I haven't posted lately. Nothing really seemed worth posting about. Things have been really busy at work. I'm shorthanded on my team so once again, I'm programming more than ever rather than just managing the projects. It's stressful doing two jobs. Hopefully I'll get to hire someone soon.

It's really starting to feel like spring around here. It's warmer and rainy. They are even talking about possible severe weather. Nothing like a good thunderstorm or tornado to make you feel right at home in springtime Iowa. I'm getting in the mood to do some gardening. I used to be really passionate about it and had a huge perennial bed in the hillside by our house. Now that hill is gone, carved out for the carport and deck and I've been too busy to garden. I want to get back into this year. Can you tell I've been watching "Curb Appeal" again?

The girls sang on Idol tonight. Mandisa kicked butt again tonight as did Katharine. Ayla wasn't great. Kinnik sucked, followed by Paris and Melissa. It was not a good week overall for the women in the competition. Kellie was cute and sold the song, but she isn't a really strong singer.

Loving Amazing Race again this year. I wasn't prepared for this at all, but I really like the hippies. They are hysterical, but it doesn't come across as though they are acting outrageous for the cameras. That's just them. Not a fan of the Dani and Danielle or whatever they are, nor of the two jockstraps. So far, I've been good with everyone who's finished last and left the show.

I'm reading Cell. In a world long ago when I read like a fiend, I would have finished it in an afternoon. These days I catch a few pages, maybe a chapter, here and there. It's a great read - much more like the old Stephen King. I have three books backed up that friends have loaned me, so I need to kick it into gear.

There hasn't been a Chloe update for a while. She's VERY much in need of a haircut right now. She's comical looking with all the hair in her face. She's still fearless and thinks she's part mountain goat. She'll be headed to the vet (hopefully this week or next) for her spaying and when she's healed I'll get her trimmed. Hate to do it now, because it is March in Iowa and anyone who lives here knows that Mother Nature loves to dump cold and snow on us after teasing us with spring. I'll be sure to take before and after pictures of her. I'm actually very proud of her today. She got left out of her cage the entire day. Normally she is in there for a while when the boys first go to school. Hubby is home during the middle of the day and lets her out and then she goes back in until the boys get home from school. Not today. She was out with the big dogs. The bathroom door was open and the toilet paper remained on the roll and everything. It's a proud moment.

Long post to say absolutely nothing, eh?

Early favorites...

American Idol is in full swing with America now doing the kicking off.
For me the front runners are Katharine and Ace. Katharine didn't get praised highly by the judges last night, but then nobody did. I still think she has the best voice overall but Mandisa took the night as far as I was concerned. Lisa is pretty amazing too. Paris and Brenna are annoying. I liked the comments they gave Ayla. I like her a lot, but she won't make it all the way. Kellie is cute and likeable and has a decent voice but she is too close to Carrie. She won't make it through. That raspy voice on Melissa could only work with certain songs and when they start having their genre picked for them, she won't be long for the competition. Her "smoky" voice sounds like early emphysema to me. The rest are just forgettable.
For the guys, Ace has it. In fact, I'm predicting Ace will take the whole thing. There are two others with amazing voices - Chris and Elliot, but Ace has the whole package. He's gorgeous, he can sing, and he seems like a truly nice guy. Votes for him will pour in.